Chapter 6:

Shika

High School Raindrops


   The air of the night was thick. The fog had died down, but the vapor in the air still felt like a wall. No one saw him as he crossed the courtyard. Most of the students were in the dorm. A guitar was being played towards the back of the school. Not the best place for a student to hang out, given where they were, but Jim saw no reason to bother him or her for now.

But he did see Joy on his way out. She was stretching by the school gate. He said to her, “Going for jog? At this time of night?”

“Yes.”

“Just, don’t go too far, alright? It’s not always safe in the forest.”

She nodded, but he wasn’t confident she’d listen. She’d started the habit a long time ago. Jim hadn’t said anything before because he was a fairly hands off sort of guardian. He wasn’t trying to be anyone’s mother, but he did care about their safety. As he walked away from her, he asked one of the pixies to keep lookout for him. She agreed and he moved along.

He walked out of the school and down to the docks, boarding his canoe and rowing away from the school. In his pocket was the napkin with the student names. Nine of ten were retrieved. He just needed to get to the last one before… well, before one of the other reapers noticed that Jim was behind.

He pushed through the water with a long stick. A scythe with the blade hidden away so that it looked less threatening. Wouldn’t want to scare anyone he crossed. Jim interacted with humans more than his own kind anyway.

He thought of his mother then and shuddered. She... knew how to put the ‘grim’ in grim reaper than most, and she definitely did not know about the school he set up here. She wouldn’t have approved of it. As far Jim was concerned, what she didn’t know didn’t hurt her.

The water was rough today. Too much activity in the woods, yet he still pushed on. Through the same route he’d just been, right through the center. It was fastest but also the most obvious. He could feel eyes on him. Something was watching; rarely a good sign on this side of Shigo.

Once he entered the base of the river he could see them clearly. The shika stared him down from the distance. Between the trees. Their large antlers and glowing eyes made them as obvious as a lighthouse. They were suspicious since they saw him and Hao Hao come in earlier. It was lucky that she hadn’t seen them (he did not want to have to explain this if he didn’t have to) but the shika would still be an issue.

He tried to push forward. Act casual and they’d leave, he thought. They didn’t. They came closer. Eventually he decided it was best to turn back for the evening. He couldn’t have the deer poking their heads in here further than they already were, and so he’d have to just go for the tenth student another day. Play the waiting game or take a different route. He’d probably just play it by ear for now.

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